Ducks look mighty in 4-1 victory over Ottawa

Ducks center Nick Bonino tries to get a shot off against Senators goalie Robin Lehner in the first period Sunday.

Ducks center Nick Bonino tries to get a shot off against Senators goalie Robin Lehner in the first period Sunday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Helene Elliott

The Ducks celebrated their past Sunday while showing signs their future might be worth celebrating too.

Corey Perry scored two goals and defenseman Hampus Lindholm recorded his first two NHL points as the Ducks won their fourth consecutive game, a 4-1 decision over the Ottawa Senators before an announced sellout crowd at the Honda Center.

The Ducks (4-1-0) set a team record by taking 56 shots on Ottawa goaltenders Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner. The previous record was 54, set against Edmonton on March 27, 2009.

Commemorating their 20th anniversary season and the 20th anniversary of their first NHL victory, the Ducks brought back 15 members of their inaugural Mighty Ducks squad and had players outfitted in replicas of the old eggplant and jade uniforms with the cartoon duck mask on the front. Public address announcements called the current team the Mighty Ducks, a name that was shortened to Ducks after Disney sold the team to Henry and Susan Samueli in 2006. Fans loved the taste of nostalgia, showering the returning players with applause and saving their warmest welcome for goaltender Guy Hebert and tough guy Stu (the Grim Reaper) Grimson.

Riding that surge of energy, the Ducks came out fast and pelted Anderson in the opening minutes. Ottawa’s sloppy defense allowed the Ducks to get several breakaways, and Senators Coach Paul MacLean replaced Anderson with Lehner only 4 minutes 6 seconds into the game, after Anderson gave up the Ducks’ second goal on their ninth shot.

Despite the Ducks’ domination -- they took 24 shots, a club record for the first period of a game -- they led by only a 2-1 margin after 20 minutes.

Perry opened the scoring 27 seconds into the game, flicking a hard shot from the hash marks past Anderson. Ryan Getzlaf made it 2-0 at 4:06, after Anderson had saved a shot by Lindholm and left a rolling rebound in the slot. Lindholm’s point was his first in the NHL. Incidentally, he was three months from being born when the then-Mighty Ducks played their first game, on Oct. 8, 1993.

The Ducks had a five-on-three advantage for 32 seconds but couldn’t capitalize, which proved important when Bobby Ryan beat Jonas Hiller with a one-timer deep on the left side with 48 seconds left in the period. His goal was met with a smattering of boos, though he was an immensely productive and popular player in Anaheim before he was traded to Ottawa last summer.

Hiller made 30 saves for the Ducks.

Perry extended the Ducks’ lead to 3-1 at 3:18 of the second period. Lindholm made a strong individual effort to carry the puck out of the neutral zone and into Ottawa’s zone before making a backhand pass to Perry, who was deep on the left side. His one-timer easily got past Lehner, Perry’s third goal this season.

He almost completed a hat trick early in the second period, but Lehner got his right toe on a shot by Perry that had been neatly set up by Getzlaf.

Nick Bonino padded the lead to 4-1 at 15:28 of the third period. He lost a faceoff but quickly regained the puck and lifted it over Lehner’s right shoulder for his second goal of the season.

The defeat ended a lost weekend for the Senators, who had given up 50 shots Saturday in losing, 3-2, at San Jose.